Amsterdam 2025: Day 6

Well, today turned out to be kind of a bust. Not entirely, it just wasn’t the day I had been hoping for. It was another gray day but I wasn’t going to let that derail my plans. I ended up spending a little time in the village of Broek in Waterland, visiting a hidden church, and eating my way through Amsterdam.

Broek in Waterland
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Amsterdam 2025: Day 5

I thought yesterday was going to be the best day of this vacation. I mean how can you top seeing millions of flowers all in bloom in beautifully manicured gardens? Well, you can take a day trip to explore three (or more) scenic villages that make up the area known as Waterland, just north of Amsterdam in North Holland. I don’t mind cities, but I hate crowds. And the two usually go hand in hand. And even though I loved the gardens yesterday, they were crowded. So today’s adventure felt like it was worlds away from the crowds I’ve encountered in the past few days. I began my day in Edam (pronounced “Ay-dahm”), walked to Volendam, took a ferry to Marken, and then headed back to Amsterdam.

Edam
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Amsterdam 2025: Day 4

Tulips, tulips, and more tulips! Today was the day I had been looking forward to the most on this trip. Keukenhof (known as the “Garden of Europe”) has almost 80 acres of gardens planted with 7 million flower bulbs each year. The tulips are in full bloom in mid-April and it was the primary reason for my visit to the Netherlands.

Keukenhof
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Amsterdam 2025: Day 3

I’m thankful that I had indoor activities planned for most of the day today since the weather was gray and drizzly all day. I most definitely did not sleep for 11 hours again last night. I was wide awake at 1:45AM and never went back to sleep. So the weather and my lack of sleep left me dragging myself around Amsterdam today. Nevertheless, I managed to hit up two iconic Amsterdam attractions: the Anne Frank House and the Rijksmuseum.

Amsterdam
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Amsterdam 2025: Day 1

Did you know that the city of Amsterdam was once little more than boggy marshland? What we now know as Amsterdam was created by a dam on the Amstel River and much dredging and reclamation took place centuries ago to turn Amsterdam into the bustling city it is today. Known for its miles of canals in the city center and acres of tulip fields just outside the city, Amsterdam will be my home for the next several days as I explore its history, culture, and surroundings.

Amsterdam
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